996.2 DRL Setup

[Gnochi]

Hi all,

 

I'm in the midst of designing a DRL setup for my 996.2 (which is a topic I recognize has been done to death). That said, I'm not a fan of LED light bars, and while I don't mind halos, this is a Porsche, not a BMW. Therefore, I'm taking inspiration from the Four Point Principle.

 

I'm using 8x total Luxeon Star 10mm square LED blocks, neutral white, with 10mm square Carclo 10415 elliptical-pattern lenses, and a 350mA FlexBlock on each side. DRLs should be on the order of 400 lumen per side and 1500Cd at the center, so I'll be using slightly lower currents than the LEDs are made for. As soon as I get dimensions 1,2,3 in the attached image, or even better a damaged 996.2 headlight unit, I'll figure out heat sinking, but it will be relatively unimportant at 4W per side, 150C maximum junction temperature, and 100F approximate steady state temperature insight the HID housing (per Pedro's Garage).

 

As far as wiring goes, here are my requirements:

• DRLs turn on with the engine
• DRLs turn off with the low beams
• The low beams can be turned on whether the engine is on or not.

 

There are several ways to do this, of course, and I think I've picked the easiest:

• 1x Bosch relay with both NC and NO pins, connecting to 1x 928-610-511-00 relay carrier added to an open spot in the relay block
• Pin 30 connects to a fuse tap at A6 - Seat heater (switched on with ignition)
• Pin 85 connects to any conveniently-located bolt to chassis, possibly in the fuse box. TBD.
• Pin 86 connects to a fuse tap at A9 - Low Beam Right (switched on with headlights)
• Pin 87a is wired to the left and right FlexBlocks in parallel.
• Pin 87 is not necessary

 

The relays I have take about 150mA to switch, which *shouldn't* noticeably affect the low beams, but does put additional stress on the headlight switch. If that causes problems I might need to do the following instead:

• 2x Bosch relays with NC/NO pins
• Pin 30-1 connects to A6
• Pin 30-2 connects to D5 - Cigar lighter (always on)
• 85-1 splices into 85-2, connected to chassis ground
• 86-1 splices into 86-2, interrupting the YE/WH wire running from the light selector stalk before it splits to go to A9/A10/Canada DRL block
• 87A-1 is wired to left and right FlexBlocks as above
• 87-2 is wired to the other side of the YE/WH split

 

Thoughts? Anyone have input on headlight switch reliability or wiring plans?

Edited March 20, 2017 by Gnochi
Edited phrasing for clarity

[Gnochi]

Good news: the damaged headlight module arrived this past week and I was able to disassemble it today. For some reason about half of the pictures I took couldn't attach here, so I made an album on imgur.

 

Bad news: the rainbow-shaped piece that looked pretty flat is bowed towards the vehicle rear, and will be much harder to replace than I had hoped. I'd like to control the LED position and orientation, so I'll likely end up with a generally more complicated part, instead of starting with a flat piece of sheet metal and bending it to fit (and adding some semblance of heat sinking).

 

I also have the option of making a relatively flat piece of sheet metal, mounting the LEDs to it, and drilling a few holes in said rainbow that can fit a 10x10mm square led module + lens. Aesthetically that doesn't interest me, though.

 

Finally, I'm exploring a few options on where to put the driver module and how to make the electrical connection in the body. It looks like there *might* be a pin free in the floating electrical connector between the headlight units and the body.

@Loren do you by any chance have a 2003 bixenon and halogen wiring diagram? Also, do you happen to know the part numbers for the crimped pin and socket in the headlight- and body-side electrical connection?

Edited April 9, 2017 by Gnochi

[strathconaman]

I like this idea. Have you thought about 3D printing the "rainbow" piece? Is this the wiring diagram you are looking for?

 

My idea right now is to remove the "additional high beam" reflector and replace it with a 3D printed part, and put 2 x MORIMOTO MODPOD LEDs (http://www.morimotohid.com/led-lighting/morimoto-mod-pod-led-lights.html) in that space. They are dual intensity, so I would run the low intensity off of AC power (effectively making it a DRL), and the high intensity off the high beam circuit (making it the high beam fill and flash-to-pass). 

 

But now that you have shown me the light (see what I did there). I think two modpod minis (http://www.morimotohid.com/led-lighting/morimoto-mod-pod-mini-led-lights.html) in the "rainbow" and two in the space the reflector is in would be super, and give it that "four point principle" look. 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2017 by strathconaman